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Getting a divorce can be costly, even when you opt for a simple divorce process. That cost is deterrent enough to keep some couples from filing for a divorce, choosing instead to remain legally married — even when they are no longer committed to the marriage and may not even...
In Part 1 of these posts, we started to examine some factors that parents should keep in mind when involved in a Pittsburgh child custody case. All too often, parents forget that their children were their highest priority when they began the divorce process. As the legal process drags on,...
For divorcing parents, there is nothing that takes a higher priority in the divorce than the well-being of their children. Many parents, though, make serious mistakes in Pittsburgh child custody cases, either by their actions or inactions. For any parent who wants to ensure the best possible outcome for their...
Every parent has their own unique parenting style, however, many people when starting to raise a child look to their own parents, the child’s grandparents, for advice and guidance on everything from diaper changing to discipline. Although grandparents can play an important role in raising a young child, some parents...
Even when a Pittsburgh divorce is the right decision, the best option and the finalization of which you are looking forward to, it is a lot to handle. While making decisions about what you want in terms of custody, alimony and property, you still have to go to work, take...
In Part 1 of our discussion, we started to talk about the difficulties encountered by recently-divorced people during the holiday season. The holidays are a busy time already, and adding the stress and emotion of divorce to that mix can make the season unbearable. That is why it is important...
In many cases, a divorce is a stressful and traumatic time. Even in a “smooth” divorce, the experience of divorce is an emotional one. Throughout the legal process of a divorce, the divorcing spouses are often caught up in their disagreements, and have become focused on the next step in...
Many people invest heavily, in different ways, in their marriages and in their businesses. When one of those investments fails, it can start to drag the other one down. In this blog post and the next one, we will look at ways to protect a closely-held business from being lost...
Pittsburgh divorce attorneys were interested to see news reports of a new study completed by researchers at Bowling Green State University recently. The researchers examined the first-time divorce rates of women. The researchers looked at the data from two different perspectives: divorce rates according to education, and divorce rates according...
Prenuptial agreements aren’t only for the rich and famous. It’s a good idea for all individuals carrying assets into a marriage to use a prenuptial agreement as a means of protecting assets in the event of a divorce. These contracts can make the division of assets easier by clearly assigning...
During the divorce process, most divorcing spouses’ priorities are set on making a definitive break from their partner, and moving on with their lives. If there is a long-term priority, it is probably the welfare of their children. A spouse’s own financial needs down the road tend to get a...
Obesity and health accusations and gaining more weight in custody battles, according to experts. Family-law practitioners and other legals experts have noticed that parents involved in child custody actions are using their children’s obesity and poor nutrition as proof that the opposing party is unfit to take care of their...
In the last post, we started to talk about the often-disappointing realities of divorce-related decisions made by Pennsylvania courts, and how the courts’ decisions may not correspond to the reality that the divorcing spouses know. A good example of expectations not matching a judge’s decision is child support. For instance,...
Most divorces have negative consequences, emotionally and financially. For the majority of people contemplating divorce, these costs are to be expected. What makes divorce even worse for many people is that the courts do not look at the facts of the marriage and the divorce in the same way that...
With our current economic situation, there’s a good reason why anyone contemplating divorce should hire an experienced Pennsylvania divorce attorney. One Pennsylvania woman, who considers herself to be luckier than most, had to move into a smaller house, pay her own mortgage while trying to support her three children, and...
Even in Pittsburgh, the story of the divorce between the owners of the L.A. Dodgers Major League Baseball club has been making the news (including this blog). Frank and Jamie McCourt have been in the divorce process now for three years, and are said to have paid millions in legal...
For couples facing divorce in Pittsburgh, there are already enormous emotional burdens to deal with. It can be overwhelming to think of all of the financial details that need to be attended to in a divorce, especially if a divorcing spouse does not have an experienced property division attorney. One...
The precise plan may not spread to Pittsburgh anytime soon, but in an attempt to spare people the hassle and heartache of divorce, some Mexico City authorities have proposed a novel plan – two year marriage contracts. According to the assemblyman who introduced the bill, the idea is a reflection...
A recent survey of couples who had filed for divorce found that some of the respondents had an unexpectedly high rate of optimism that the marriage could be saved. Nearly a quarter of the respondents said that they thought reconciliation was possible. For 12 percent of the respondents, their spouse...
When state governments begin to make big changes to their laws regarding alimony, it gets noticed in other states. Whether in Pennsylvania or other parts of the country, very few people are entirely satisfied with the way the spousal support system works. That is why reforms like those that recently...
It seems supremely unfair that anyone who has gone through the trials of a divorce should also be at increased risk for hair loss, but that is exactly the conclusion that has been found by new research. Particularly for women, divorce was found to be one of the strongest predictors...
Even if you are a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, judges expect you to show up for your child support hearings. They especially would like to see you if the purpose of the hearing is to discuss why you have not been paying your child support. That was...
In this difficult economy, many parents are having trouble making child support payments. But the difficult economy makes it even harder for parents who count on receiving child support to provide for their children if payments are not made. The vicious cycle has led some authorities to move in the...
Everyone needs help with something now and then. Adults who are getting divorced need support from friends, and in Pittsburgh they need assistance from an experienced Pennsylvania divorce attorney. But when parents get divorced, it is the children who need the most help of all, and they need it most...
If you are getting divorced in Pennsylvania, a good first move would be to hire an experienced Pittsburgh divorce attorney. Doing so would take a lot of the pressure off of you, since a professional will be able to handle many of the details of the process, and guide you...
Mel Gibson has been neck-deep in family law problems in the last year or two, but some of them appear to be reaching some resolution, at least for a while. The Hollywood film star and award-winning director and producer has suffered some terrible setbacks to his public image, with the...
The legal details involved in getting a divorce are a source of enormous stress for almost everyone who goes through that process. That is why having professional help from an experienced divorce lawyer is so important. That assistance can help to lower the almost-inevitable stress level that is associated with...
For decades, it has seemed as though divorce rates have been rising ever higher in Pittsburgh and indeed across the country. The truth is that while divorce rates are high, they have not been increasing year after year. However, the fact that divorce rates are not as high as commonly...
The new Steve Carell comedy-drama “Crazy, Stupid Love” is generating some discussion as to whether its depiction of a separating couple is realistic. The movie is attracting some criticism because (spoiler alert), the separating couple reunites at the end. Adults probably know this movie is a work of fiction that...
Many separating parents in Pittsburgh have to struggle with the question of how much child support they feel they need, or how much they can afford to pay. The parties to a child support dispute are free to request an amount that they believe is fair, but to a great...
In our previous post, we described a child support case with some elements that might surprise Pittsburgh residents – specifically, the father’s claim that the child was the product of his being raped. The case that could set a new precedent when it comes to fathers who conceive a child...
An interesting child support case has recently arisen that may raise a few eyebrows among Pittsburgh readers. The case involves a teenage father who says that he was the victim of a rape when he had sex with his 18-year-old girlfriend. During the encounter, a baby was conceived. In this...
Divorce is often thought of as something that young people go through. Young couples who get married before they really know each other or before they really understand what they are getting into find that they are unhappy with their marriages and get divorced. Even though many people think of...
Spousal support is hard to pay and hard to try to live on, except maybe if both ex-spouses are multimillionaires. Even though “hardship” does not seem to be a word that applies in that case, when spousal support is being paid in the millions, there is plenty for the parties...
If you’re suffering from a serious illness, that last thing you need is for your spouse to take off and leave. But recent studies indicate divorce rates increase when a spouse is seriously ill – particularly if the ill spouse is the wife. According to CNN, a study published in...
Many parents who are splitting up would like to have a joint child custody arrangement, usually for the sake of the children. As opposed to the old way of doing things when judges tended to order primary custody for the mother, there is now a trend toward joint custody, if...
Isabella Miller-Jenkins is the subject of an international manhunt. She was conceived via artificial insemination, and was born to a lesbian couple, Ms. Miller and Ms. Jenkins. Ms. Jenkins never formally adopted Isabella even though the couple was joined by a civil union in Vermont, so after the couple split...
Most people, whether they live in Pittsburgh or anywhere else in the country, are willing to forgive a lot of faults that they perceive in their spouse. These could be little faults or big ones, but the bigger they get, the harder it is for an aggrieved spouse to overlook...
Everyone makes mistakes. A lot of people make mistakes when they get divorced, or at least they worry that they do. Property division is a complex issue, regardless of the amount of marital property. It is easy to misconstrue details of a divorce settlement or the divorce decree. Courts aren’t...
Between separating from your spouse and dealing with your household and child support, you have enough on your mind during a divorce, you have enough on your mind. And stress on your wallet. An unnecessary, expensive bill is the last thing your family should have to deal with. Unfortunately, in...
What happens when divorcing parents can’t decide on who will care for the children and there is a child custody battle? What happens if one parent accuses the other parent of posing a threat to the children? What happens when the State threatens to strip a parent of his or...
For many couples in Pittsburgh, property division can be one of the most challenging parts of the divorce process. Couples work hard to build their estate and assets during marriage, and it’s tough to watch everything get cut in half by a divorce judge. However, in some situations, spouses may...
Pennsylvania courts are not obliged to follow any precedents set by state-level courts of any other state. If a judicial opinion from another state is very similar to a Pennsylvania case, though, and the laws applied in it are also similar, and the legal reasoning is very strong, an out-of-state...
A new study shows a surprising connection between sex and divorce. The study, conducted at the University of Iowa and published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, reveals that girls who lost their virginity as teenagers were more likely to divorce. According to the Huffington Post, the study looked...
Millions of people use social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter to stay connected with friends and keep up on current events. However, when it comes to family law matters, social networking is not always your friend. Recently it was reported that an Indiana woman created a fake Facebook account...
Don’t feel bad if you have never heard of the term “parental alienation.” A Pennsylvania man is working to change that. Daniel Holmes recently got his hometown of Hatboro to recognize an official Parental Alienation Awareness Day. The term refers to activities by one member of a couple going through...
Courts don’t like to revisit issues in divorce property division. Just ask anyone who has asked a Pennsylvania court to change a property division decision after the divorce decree has become final. So it is not only Pittsburgh property division attorneys who are interested in the recent lawsuit by an...
Long commutes to work are not just a drain on your pocketbook and a waste of your time. It turns out that they also increase the likelihood that you will get divorced. A recent study that looked at the effect on marital relationships of one or both spouses adding a...
The U.S. Census Bureau recently released a report on the trends in marriage and divorce in the United States. Perhaps surprisingly, the report finds that divorce rates have slowed from a peak that occurred around 1980. Since then, the rate of divorce has slowed, and the age at which people...
Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, the couple that was already famous and successful when they married in 1986, then became even more successful over the next 25 years, have announced that they are separating. Pittsburgh divorce attorneys noted that the couple recently ended their time as governor and first lady...
Pro football players for the NFL are already locked out of their workplace, and basketball players for the NBA could find themselves in a similar situation within months. If the standoffs with owners continue into the football and basketball seasons, many professional athletes could find themselves without paychecks. In anticipation...
Most people assume that as unemployment rates rise, the stress on marriages with one or both spouses being out of work grows to such an excruciating point that a rise in divorces is almost inevitable. That is what researchers from Penn State expected to find when they examined the connections...
In Pennsylvania and across the country, courts deciding child custody cases in the past often exhibited a preference for awarding primary physical custody to the mother and awarding visitation rights to the father. There were exceptions to the rule, but the typical outcome was primary custody for the mother. Over...
When parents deny grandparents any visitation with their grandchildren, grandparents may petition the family court for visitation rights if it is in the best interest of the grandchildren. Sometimes, however, the court may find that the parents have a good reason for denying grandparents visitation rights with the grandchildren. In...
An eight-month long international child custody dispute appears to have been resolved for now, leaving one parent facing federal charges of international parental kidnapping. The dispute arose last summer between two Italian parents. The parents had been married in Italy and then divorced in 2004. They shared joint custody of...
Divorced parents are going to have to have regular contact. This situation can be difficult, considering the frustration and anger that so frequently arise in a divorce. But there are ways to maintain a good relationship, or, to put it more accurately, to start a new positive relationship that benefits...
Charlie Sheen and his soon-to-be ex-wife Brooke Mueller reached a child custody agreement last month, in which Mueller has primary custody of the couple’s two children, Bob and Max. However, Mueller recently refused to take a drug test that was a condition of the child custody arrangement. Shortly after, it...
For most people getting married for the first time, having a prenuptial agreement is an unappealing prospect. Only about three percent of first-time spouses get prenups. But a lot of people getting divorced and dealing with contentious matters of property division probably wish they had a clear and enforceable prenuptial...
Even when a divorce is amicable, deciding how to divide the household’s property is difficult. When a divorce is contentious, the problem is much, much worse. In longer marriages in particular, there can be many types of property involved, and valuation of these assets can be very fluid. In other...
In the last post, we started to look at some of the tax situations that arise in divorce. Now we continue that discussion with some more things to keep in mind during divorce negotiations, and after. The IRS looks at the calendar to determine if you are married for tax...
Economics have been a factor in keeping many couples from divorcing who might otherwise have split up sooner. For those who do divorce, though, economic factors will still play a part in their lives. For one thing, divorce has wide-ranging effects on the divorced spouses’ taxes. The following are some...
Raising twins is stressful. In fact, it may be so stressful that it accounts for a finding that parents of twins are somewhat more likely to get divorced than parents without twins. The tendency for parents of twins to divorce at higher rates than parents of non-twins was slight. It...
Divorce rates have actually decreased a little over the last twenty years. But for people over 50 years of age, it has doubled. There were around 300,000 couples over 50 that divorced in 2008, and if the trend continues there will be 400,000 divorces in that age group in 2030....
When parents divorce, one issue that is of paramount importance is child custody. Parents may seek sole custody or joint custody. If sole custody is awarded, that parent would be considered the primary custodial parent. The other parent would be the non-custodial parent and would typically retain some parental rights,...
For many divorced couples, the idea of vacationing with an ex-spouse is absolutely out of the question. But for those who can get along reasonably well, vacationing together with their children can be a good way to save money and produce some good memories for the kids, and maybe even...
Social Security benefits are usually the last thing on someone’s mind when they are getting a divorce, but those benefits are going to matter. Around half of all marriages in the U.S. end in divorce, and Social Security is the primary source of income for 72% of single retirees. Many...
In their careers, male and female members of the military have largely similar responsibilities and face similar challenges. Their personal lives, however, tend to be very different. According to Pentagon statistics, women who serve in the military experience divorce at much higher rates than do their male comrades. Pentagon statistics...
While it is commonly understood, and studies have confirmed, that there is a relationship between having an unhappy childhood and having an unhappy and unfulfilling adult life, less commonly studied are the effects of a happy childhood on a person’s adult life. A recent study found that, perhaps not surprisingly,...
When you are considering ending your marriage, an experienced divorce lawyer can be of great assistance. Pennsylvania’s family law system can be confusing and intimidating, with a unique set of rules and a language of its own. An attorney who understands the law and the process can help you evaluate...